Malala and TTP logic
THE recent attack on Malala Yousufzai has shocked not only Pakistan but the whole world. There was near unanimity among the people of Pakistan that the attack was unjustified.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed that the attack was carried out by them at the behest of Maulana Fazlullah, reportedly hiding in Afghanistan. Pakistan has requested the Afghan government to hand over Fazlullah and his men.
It is a matter of shame that a religious ‘leader’ should be involved in the attempted murder of a teenage girl. Her ‘crime’ was that she was campaigning for the education of girls.
The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan has justified attacking Malala on religious grounds and described her as a ‘spy of the West’. Justifying the attack, the Taliban have reportedly said: “For this espionage, infidels gave her awards and rewards. And Islam orders killing of those who are spying [for] enemies,” while the second reason given was that Malala “used to propagate against mujahideen (holy warriors) to defame the Taliban. The Holy Quran says that people propagating against Islam and Islamic forces [should] be killed.”
This is obviously an extremely weak defence. Firstly, if the Taliban knew anything about Islam they would know that a child cannot be punished unless he or she attains adulthood. Only those who can understand the consequences of what they are doing (people with reasoning power) are liable to punishment in Islam. Even prayers, fasting or Haj are not obligatory on children.
Secondly, niyyah (intention) is necessary for performance of an act in Islam. Even prayer or fasting without niyyah will not be acceptable.
The weakness of the argument is obvious from the fact that the Taliban have equated the campaign for education of girls with ‘spying’. It is quite ridiculous. Before trying to execute somebody the crime has to be proved in a court of law. And Islamic punishments cannot be carried out by just anyone; one has to take the case to the court of a qazi (judge) who hears the case, demands proof and asks for witnesses.
Even as grave a crime as zina (illegitimate sexual intercourse or adulterous relationship) requires four witnesses who have witnessed the act itself for imposing the Islamic punishment of 100 lashes (or stoning to death, though there is controversy about this punishment).
No one can take the law into their own hands and execute someone who has allegedly committed the crime. There will be total anarchy if this becomes the norm. Only a duly constituted government can appoint a properly qualified qazi who can try the accused and pronounce appropriate sentence. There can also be mitigating circumstances which a qazi has to take into account.
Not only are the Taliban not a government, they are not even fit to be called mujahideen. A mujahid fights only in the way of Allah (fi sabil-illah), which itself is an act of great responsibility and means that there should be no selfish desires involved and no arbitrariness at all.
Their acts are far from Islamic or in the way of Allah; more often than not they are oppressive, exploitative and totally arbitrary, besides being inhumane.
How strange that the Taliban are describing campaigning for education as an act of ‘spying’. Can there be more irresponsible and arbitrary judgment than this? Do ‘mujahideen’ act so irresponsibly? Or since they decided to murder an innocent teenage girl are they trying to find lame excuses to label their action ‘Islamic’? They can deceive themselves, but not those who are experts in Islamic law and dispensing Islamic justice.
The Taliban should know that a qazi or a mufti, while calling something ‘Islamic’, has to quote from the Quran or the Sunnah or both, and where there is any ambiguity to quote the opinion of an imam or founder of any of the schools of law and not just describe anything one wants to as ‘Islamic’.
It is a gross error to do so and much more so if done intentionally, which is what the Taliban have done in this case. Just by calling something Islamic does not make it so.
There is total unanimity among all Islamic scholars that ilm (knowledge) is obligatory on all Muslim men and Muslim women (muslimah). The Prophet (PBUH) did not use the word Muslim, which would have included both men and women, but mentioned Muslim men and women separately so that Muslim women are not left out in the matter of acquiring knowledge. And the Prophet made acquisition of knowledge for both men and women obligatory.
Then, can acquiring knowledge be equated with spying? The Prophet is also reported to have said that a man who has a daughter and educates her and marries her to an educated man will enter paradise. He even went to the extent of saying that he would guarantee such an individual’s entering paradise.
Also, the Quran makes us pray to the Lord to increase our knowledge (rabbi zidni ilman); all commentators agree that this applies to both men and women.
The Quran calls knowledge light and ignorance darkness and asks us to pray to Allah to take us out of darkness and into light.
All this clearly shows that what the Taliban have done is patently un-Islamic and must be strongly condemned. All those responsible for the dastardly act must be tried in a court of law and if found guilty, given stringent punishment.
The writer is an Islamic scholar who also heads the Centre for Study of Society & Secularism, Mumbai.
I see malalas photos with Richard Holbrook and American army.can somebody explain
When will this whole drama end??? Do Pakistani journalist have no other real problem to cover??? Yes , it was a bad thing attacking an innocent girl and i condemn it in the strongest words but why we forget thousands of other children who are killed in this country and no one has dedicated a single column for them?. Does anyone know the two girls who were shot at the same time? Why is Malala so important???
Who decides who is right and who is wrong in the teachings of Islam? Who authorized these savages to decide the tenets of Islam? Who authorized these murderers with the power of punishment?
What about human rights? What about free will?
Who is authorized to tell Muslims how to pray, what to say, how to do things and who to hate? Do indivdual Muslims have a choice? Isn’t religion a personal and private relationship between the man and his God?
If the answer to the last two questions is NO, then Muslims are condemened to live in barberic system of the 7th century.
Honestly i think this is a conspiracy because there are so many women that is killed every day wherever Taliban’s are and they all are innocent including kids, elderly and teenagers. They all want to educate themselves and also i believe they probably stand for their cause but Taliban kill them but no one cares at all. No newspaper writes millions of article for them and no aid is provided to secure their rights and this happens in Pakistan. What is so special about this girl?
Besides the authors article is great because if Taliban and mufti declares her as rebellion then they should think of not living in 14th century anymore. Time has changed. If Taliban and Muftis are enjoying all the latest advanced facilities of life in 21st century, they should open their mind regarding religion also. Islam is not the religion of killing, killing and killing. It is the religion of Peace.
Because of their non sense fanatic behavior, they have made the world hell for the living Muslims all over the world.
All those who struggle and fight for their countries and people are religiously fighters as long as occupiers are driven out.and they follow the rules of jihad..Killing unarmed men,women or girls is not only inhuman but entirely against the teaching of Islam.The activities of TTP in Pakistan is to establish or capture piece of land to exploit people and live on other’s earnings for their comforts . ..
Why do we have to bring religion into everything? Let us look at this as a pure and simple crime where an attempted murder was committed. On top of that there are death threats being given out. By definition the Taliban are criminals and should be treated as such.
The basic point is that Taliban or so called Mujahedeen that they are not, have no right to kill any human being according to Islam. Killing innocent people is against Islam they need to get that in their bone head.
Entire pakistan has been hijacked by these taliban gangs and thugs..they do not have any mercy..They just carry out all their inhuman , barbaric act against any human being irrespective of age, gender, country and religion.
If Pakistan want to succeed as society, now it is the responsibility of every human there to fight against this menace.
Taliban don’t accept Islam as their guiding faith. What they are enforcing with such brutality has nothing to do with Islam, so any Islamic reasoning with them is useless. They have created a new religion based on some primitive tribal customs of Afghanistan and added to it some Islamic rituals. They insist and probably honestly believe that what they are preaching is Islam, but it is not.
My Question to the writer is that what knowledge is meant in Islam? and today the educated people are involved in corruption, adultery, crimes, and making mass destructive weapons. Education does not mean to became a more earning, but to become well wisher and that education is tough in Islam not in schools, in schools it is tough how to earn more by any means.
With their words and deeds Talibans have proved beyond doubt that they are animals who look, talk and walk like humans.
You are trying to fight fire with fire.. This won’t work in this case..
Islam is a highly politically oriented Religion. Hence, open to different interpretations, many times violent interpretations. That is why there are so many Islamic countries and not many Christian or Buddhist countries.
I suggest you stop using Islam to out-reason the Taliban and use common sense. Taliban are too arrogant to listen to you what Islam is.
Taliban are giving the same logic which Americans give when on slightest suspicion they act against American muslims in the name of security. As for malala what about the utube video in which she, her parents are sitting with Richard Holbrook and the American army personal .howcome she was given so much importance by the Americans.
You write that Malala is a child and had not attained the adulthood- what is the age of adulthood in Islam??
Nine to be married off. But does that allow Taliban to kill her as you seem to be implying just be cause she attained adulthood.
If that is your implication, shame on you.
There are other serious issues, writer only interested in the dead issue.There seems involvement of foreign hand in this matter and other such type of incidences to defame Islam. The news paper and writer should involve in burning issues to discuss and specially to bring different muslim factions and sects together and notify the mistakes of the sects that create hatred inorder to have unity..
And of course you can provide evidence of the ever popular “foreign hand” that you speak of!!!
I don’t understand why Pakistanis bring religion into everything. The writer’s argument is that Islam does not allow the punishment of children. But what if it did? Would that justify the attack? If yes, then interpretations of religion runs your life. If not, then religion is irrelevant when dealing with inalienable human rights. If you prefer you former, then the mullahs will always win the argument. If you prefer the latter, then religion can move into the private sphere.
Excellent point.
I am all for education for every one.
…while calling something ‘Islamic’, has to quote from the Quran or the Sunnah or both,” the writers quote
“The Prophet is also reported to have said ( Mr. Ashagar reference please) that a man who has a daughter and educates her and marries her to an educated man will enter paradise. He even went to the extent of saying that he would guarantee such an individual’s entering paradise.”
Without references, just like the Talibans, Reference please.
These Taliban seem to be uneducated fanatics without a clue of the Quran and Hadith. Islam has been reduced to killing and bombing no talk of spirituality and god conciousness. The real jihad is the jihad against oneself not to go around firing a gun and killing people.
That is totally wrong. Taliban and Mullas are not uneducated. They are educated, read Quran and know what Hadith says.They only follow what seems to fit in their current scenario. In fact they are very clever because they only pick and adopt things that are in their favor…..Jihad is just the name they use to kill people for their own good without thinking of humanity.
Sadly, not all Pakistanis are against this incident. You can still find a lot of educated Taliban sympathizers who are in their beliefs giving them the credibility of a Prophet. This is perhaps the reason when dawn published a photo blog of Malala recovering, comments were off. Because there is psyche in Pakistan that everything is a conspiracy and there this entire attack thing is considered either drama or is justified by a good number of people.
As a Canadian-Pakistani I unreservedly condemn attack on the young girl Malala Yousafzai.
We should however not be selective but condemn all the forces of darkness and cruelties, including those who are attacking and killing innocent people in the North and South Waziristan. They are not at all involved in terrorism but want to live peacefully.
Great Reply…
gud 1
The learned writer tries hard to prove that the Taliban are wrong. He resorts to all sort of Quranic injunctions and convoluted logic to make his case. Instead, all that he had to do was proclaim the notion of “human right” that individuals have, and the need to protect “children and their rights to education”. Dissappointing if one has to write complex papers to prove the Taliban wrong. If it is not obvious that they are almost animals and they have nothing humane about them, the people in Pakistan have no hope and society will crumble.
Exactly. I agree one hundred percent. It is so obvious that Taliban are wrong and threat to society. We should do something to take care of this problem, instead of making it a legal or religeous issue. If some one makes it a religeous issue, there is not a whole lot difference between him and Taliban.
The learned scholar has mentioned what Prophet ( PBUH) said about women acquiring knowledge. I sincerely hope people take his words seriously and allow women to study and reach great heights.
To attribute ‘logic’ to TTP is to insult the art and science of logic.
Absolutely correct.
Very true. Well said. It is surprizing to me that the writer took so much trouble trying to explain some thing which is so obvious.
Logic is provided by Sharia Law which forbids education to girls.